


a man walks down the street, he says: why am i soft in the middle?

by orphan_account



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Dad Harry, Doctor's appointment, Fluff, Kidfic, protective, shots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-22 17:34:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10701789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Harry takes his three-year-old for a shot.





	a man walks down the street, he says: why am i soft in the middle?

**Author's Note:**

> Storytime: I was hacked???  
> Just kidding. I've decided after a lot of thinking to repost most of my fics. I deleted them at 2am in an angry, emotional hizzy and then of course woke up full of regret. SO. Minus a few of the older ones that were never really good anyway, here are my fics again. I apologize for all the e-mails you've gotten from me today. I'm going to just pretend I'm not upset over the lost comments and kudos. I'm fine. Really! Totally fine. But here they are again! Thank you for all the love you have given me. I’m not as invested in fic writing as I’ve been in the past, but who knows if I’ll get back into it.
> 
> \--  
> If you noticed, I didn't explicitly mention Harry having a certain spouse in this one. I wanted to focus on Harry himself as a father. It's my favorite thing, if you hadn't noticed.

"Baby, you have to get out of the car someday."

“No I don’t. Not getting out. I’ll stay right here, thanks Daddy.”

Harry leaned against the doorframe of his Range Rover, eyeing his three-year-old who was still sat in her car seat, and she eyed him right back. He knew this was going to be an issue, right from the initial sight of the little girl pouting over her Rice Krispies the other morning. Erin was due for her yearly checkup, which included a flu shot that Harry and his spouse had desperately tried to keep hidden from their daughter, because nobody wanted to give a screeching three-year-old girl a shot. Of course she’d found out anyway, overhearing a whispered conversation when they thought she was engrossed in her dollhouse. So while they were at work, it was Harry’s job to take his girl for her appointment, and she quite literally kicked and screamed her way into the car. An exhausted Harry had tried everything to get her dressed and out of the house, his own patience dwindling rapidly. It took him promising her an ice cream-filled Daddy-daughter day to get her to half-accept what was going to happen that day, and even then she was miserable.

Erin was silent the ride over. Harry hummed along to the radio which usually made the girl laugh, but not today. Harry had to look away from the mirror every time he saw a tiny lip wobbling, or heard Erin mumbling words to herself that sounded like tiny motivational speeches. He knew getting shots were a big deal, and Erin hadn’t gotten one since she was only weeks old so it had been easier to distract her then. However, if this was the most pain his little girl would go through in her young years, that was fine by him.

It had started that morning. His spouse had meetings throughout the day that they couldn’t get out of, so Harry was automatically designated driver. Harry’s partner had kissed him goodbye that morning with a whispered _Good luck_ , Harry rolling his eyes into his pillow and groaning. He’d gotten himself up and made breakfast, trying to act as normal. Erin was quietly playing in the living room, still in her pajamas, even though Harry had told her more than once to get dressed and eat her pancakes.

“Berry, come get dressed, lovely, please. Your breakfast is getting cold.”

“M’not hungry, Dadda. You can eat it.”

“I’m not going to eat your breakfast, my darling. It’s for you. I made it special for my girl.”

Harry smiled, crouching down so he met Erin’s big blue eyes. She pouted at this, her strawberry-patterned pajamas still very much on her body.

“Now, do you need Daddy to help you get dressed, or can you be a big girl and come downstairs when you’re finished?” Harry said, smoothing back the little girl’s hair - a braid that had since become loose from sleep.

“I can do it,” she said, trying to keep her voice strong, and Harry couldn’t help but wince slightly because he knew the tears were coming soon. “I can get dressed. Can you help me tie my shoes?”

This cracked a genuine laugh out of Harry, and he nodded. “Of course. Now, you hurry up, baby. We have a fun day planned.” He hit her bum with his sock-covered foot as she stood up, Erin squealing and rushing up the stairs.

Harry _almost_ let himself think she’d forgotten about the shot. _Almost._

 

So there they were, sitting in the parking lot of the doctor’s office. Well, Erin was sitting, Harry standing outside the door. It was starting to rain, which probably didn’t help Erin’s gloomy mood one bit.

“How about this,” Harry said. He leaned on his forearms on the armrest of the car seat, his thumb caressing Erin’s chubby cheek. “You squeeze my arm as _hard_ as you want. Or pinch me, or pull my hair. How does that sound? So it’s like Daddy is getting a shot too?”

Erin pouted a little. “I don’t want to hurt my Daddy,” she whispered, and Harry’s heart ached a little. He leaned forward, so that he was eye level with his girl.

“Can I have a good morning kiss?” he asked, turning his cheek just in time for her to place a wet kiss to his cheek.

“Thank you, honey,” Harry whispered. Erin’s lower lip trembled a little, her hands curling the bottom of Harry’s t-shirt nervously. Just when Harry thought he was warming her up, she opened her mouth and started sobbing.”

“I don't wanna go! Please, Dad! I'll be good, I'll stay home and be good and do chores and be nice to you and draw you nice pictures, and-”

“Alright,” Harry said gruffly. He unbuckled Erin from her car seat, ignoring her wails of anger and tears of how upset she was. Harry was nothing but patient, kind, and gentle all morning, but now he needed to play the Dad role, and this meant being serious.

“You listen to me,” Harry said, his voice low but not unkind, never unkind to his baby girl. Erin’s eyes were wide and focused on Harry’s. Even at a young age she knew when her dad meant business. Harry held her in his arms, on his hip while he shut the car door and tucked her hood over her head, making his way inside. Erin rested her head on his shoulder, her small brain knowing when to be quiet and listen. Harry kissed the top of her head a few times, waiting until they were safe from the rain inside before he continued.

Harry kissed Erin’s tiny nose before he started, smoothing her wet bangs off of her face. “I would _never_ hurt you on purpose, you know that, right bub?” Harry waited until she nodded before he continued. “I don’t ever want you to think for a second that I’d let anything happen to you. Do you hear me? Especially not some tiny shot. I would never ever bring you somewhere that would hurt you. Do you understand, sweetheart?” Harry rubbed the small expanse of Erin’s back soothingly, bouncing his little girl slightly.

“Yes, Daddy,” Erin whispered. She curled her fingers in his hair, leaning closer, as if she was going to tell a secret. “Will you hold my hand, Daddy? And give me a kiss?”

“You never have to ask for that, hm?” Harry said, sticking his lips forward for Erin to reach up and peck, her frown turned into wet giggles when Harry peppered wet kisses all across her face.

“I will never, ever let you get hurt, my angel,” Harry said solemnly. “This will be the only thing that even tries to hurt you, if it’s up to me.” And Erin didn’t know what he meant by that, but Harry didn’t mind. He did exactly as he said he would once they were called inside. Harry jumped up on the bed of crinkly paper, asking her to do a twirl and a pose for him once she’d stripped down to her underwear and adorned a baby chick-patterned paper robe that the nurse supplied. Erin giggled, kissing Harry’s knees, which were the only things she could reach, while Harry stroked his fingers through her hair soothingly.

The two of them were just getting into one of the puzzles while they waited, until a soft knock on the door caused Erin to whimper, running to her father’s side. She wrapped her arms around his hips, hiding her face in his stomach. Harry fixed the strings on her robe, kissing his girl on the top of the head a few times in comfort. The nurse smiled, remaining quiet - she was a professional and a mother herself. She knew the drill.

“Baby,” Harry whispered, smiling kindly. He waited until Erin looked up at him, her entire demeanor changed. Harry’s heart hurt for his baby girl - to him, needles were no issue, hence how his body was covered in tattoos. But he could see why Erin was so scared, and he hated not being able to ease her worries.

“Remember what I told you? Pinch my arm as hard as you can, sweet thing. I promise it won’t hurt a bit, and neither will your shot.”

They got situated, Harry sat on the crinkly paper bed with Erin in his lap. Harry spied the needle, and his stomach did a small lurch as he saw how big it was. He took Erin’s hand in his, using one finger to turn her chin toward his. “Baby, after this do you wanna get pizza or broccoli? I was thinking cauliflower, too, and carrots, maybe make a big salad and throw out all the candy in the-”

“Daddy,” Erin giggled, poking Harry’s cheek, and then her eyebrows raised in a gasp, her hand desperately clutching Harry’s forearm. Tiny nails dug into Harry’s skin, and he kept eye contact with Erin, kissing her little head as the nurse did quick work of placing a Crayola bandage over the small incision area. Harry smiled, then, and although Erin’s eyes were watery, she at least wasn’t crying.

“So proud of you, my big girl, such a brave girl for me,” Harry whispered, Erin sniffling slightly, a small smile on her face from the enthusiasm radiating from her father.

After Harry gently helped Erin back into her sweater and trousers, careful not to tug too hard on her arm, all tears were wiped away. And Erin might have convinced the nurse to give Harry his own pink Crayola bandage - for matching purposes only, of course, right on his arm where Erin had barely left a mark in the skin. His spouse would get a kick out of that for sure.

They got back into the car, the sun peeking through the clouds. Harry sighed softly after a job well done, about to turn to ask Erin what she wanted to do next, but she had a question of her own.

“Did you cry when I pinched you, Dadda?”

Harry nodded, fighting back a laugh. “I did, baby girl. You’re too strong for me.”

“I didn’t cry, Daddy. I was brave.”

Harry smiled at the girl through the mirror, Erin frowning a little at her arm, which must have felt numb by now. Honestly, Harry _was_ tearing up, but it was mostly from being so proud of his little girl, and the room smelled too much of bleach and it was hurting his eyes. “You sure were, baby. Much braver than your Daddy. Now, onto more important things - pizza or broccoli?”

“Dadda, you’re not funny.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments & kudos always appreciated xo


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